City of Grand Junction submits response to dismiss ACLU lawsuit

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. The city of Grand Junction continues to reinforce its decision to create an ordinance to stop aggressive panhandling.

The city filed a response Thursday for its request to dismiss the American Civil Liberties Union's lawsuit against the ordinance.

The response said the ordinance is content neutral and the restrictions on panhandling are narrowly focused for the purpose of ensuring the safety of citizens, so therefore, the city said the ordinance is constitutional.

The response also emphasizes specific wording in the ordinance that says the panhandler must know he or she is not in compliance in order to be cited.

The ACLU said they'll be filing an additional statement in the coming days due to the Supreme Court's decision to not allow buffer zones for protesters around abortion clinics.